Katusha has suspended Spanish rider Angel Vicioso after he apparently misled the team over his appearance at the Operacion Puerto doping trial. He had originally been due to give evidence last Friday but failed to do so, producing a doctor’s note that claimed he had a bad back.

His testimony was rescheduled for yesterday, but again he failed to appear, leading the judge to threaten to take steps to compel him to give evidence if he did not do so voluntarily.

“I asked him whether he would go to the court to give testimony, but he assured me that he had settled the issue, called the official representative and provided all the required documents, but it’s not true,” he added.

While the Operacion Puerto trial relates to events at least six years before Vicioso joined Katusha in 2012, the episode is an embarrassing one for the team, which only last week regained its WorldTour licence at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

"We want to co-operate with the UCI in every possible way, therefore such actions by Vicioso just discredits our image," reflected Ekimov.

The 35-year-old Vicioso’s previous teams include ONCE-Eroski and Liberty Seguros, the former Spanish outfits that are very much at the centre of the scandal.

His biggest win came in the colours of Androni Giocattoli on Stage 3 of the Giro d’Italia in Rapallo, but was overshadowed by news of the death of Wouter Weylandt in a crash on a descent during the stage.

Last year he was a key domestique for Joaquin Rodriguez at the Giro and the Vuelta.

I have to agree with SevenHills - I wasn't dismayed by the UCI relegation of Katusha in the first place. They've always seemed like "one of those" teams to me. Not quite as obvious as Rock 'N Road but in the same mould.